The University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, or BOKU University (German: , ), is a public university in Vienna, Austria. No consensus has yet been established on the university's name in English. While the university calls itself the BOKU University and the University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Vienna, Austria's Federal Ministry of Women, Science and Research calls it the University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences Vienna.
There are currently 10,941 students from over 100 countries enrolled at BOKU.
After 27 years at Palais Schönborn the City of Vienna decided in 1896 to build a new campus at Türkenschanzpark in the 18th district. The departments of sustainable agriculture, soil science, horticulture, animal husbandry, economics and social sciences are still headquartered at this original campus. Another city campus, located at Muthgasse in the 19th district near the Heiligenstadt underground station, is the headquarters for the biotechnology, chemistry, plant sciences, water resource management, waste management and food sciences departments. There is also a research facility complex in Tulln, north of the city, with biotechnology and agricultural sciences laboratories and facilities. Other important locations and testing fields are GroÃÂ-Enzersdorf (Lower Austria), Jedlersdorf (Vienna), Knödelhütte (Vienna), Heuberg/Rosalia (Burgenland) and the Water Cluster Lunz am See (Lower Austria).
15 Departments of BOKU
Research Units and Initiatives
BOKU offers 8 BSc programmes and 28 MSc programmes. Most of them allow various specialisations and possibilities for majors. The language of instruction is partly German, partly English. For many MSc programmes the language of instruction is English only. In general, programmes start each year in October and take three years for a BSc diploma with 180 ECTS credits and two years for a MSc diploma with 120 ECTS credits. Studies are in the field of natural resources management, life sciences & biotechnology, civil & environmental engineering, landscape planning, agriculture, forestry and winemaking.
The PhD programme is a three-year programme with 180 ECTS credits which consists of a research component (conducting research under supervision and writing a thesis) and a smaller education component. In order to guarantee adequate supervision, the research subject must fit the research programme of BOKU and its institutes.
Due to BOKU's extensive world-wide engagement, the university offers many international MSc programmes as joint or double degree. It is also a member of the Euroleague for Life Sciences university network, partnering with University of Copenhagen, Faculty of Science (SCIENCE), Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Czech University of Life Sciences Prague (CULS), University of Hohenheim (UHOH), Warsaw University of Life Sciences (WULS-SGGW), Wageningen University and Research Centre (WUR), China Agricultural University (CAU), Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment (HUJI), Lincoln University, New Zealand (LU) and Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences (CALS).